Title
A MOTION requesting the executive, superior court, district court, prosecuting attorney, public defender and the sheriff to develop and submit for council review and approval a phased action plan to prevent and reduce chronic homelessness and unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice and emergency medical systems and promote recovery for persons with disabling mental illness and chemical dependency by implementing a full continuum of treatment, housing and case management services.
Body
WHEREAS, the King County correctional facility is often cited as the state's second largest mental health facility with a daily population of mentally ill persons higher than another other facility except Western State Hospital, and
WHEREAS, about two thirds of persons booked into King County jail facilities have chemical abuse and dependency issues, and
WHEREAS, the Juvenile and Adult Justice Operational Master Plans adopted in 2000 and 2002, respectively, require the use of alternatives to incarceration, including treatment alternatives, therapeutic courts and placement in treatment following incarceration for people with serious mental illness and chemical dependency problems, and
WHEREAS, the county has reinvested a portion of the savings from reduced juvenile and adult incarceration to develop and expand treatment options that effectively address the underlying issues, prevent repeated involvement in the justice system and, thus, reduce the growth in county criminal justice costs, the main driver in the county general fund budget, and
WHEREAS, in implementing treatment options, the department of community and human services and the county criminal justice agencies have developed close working relationships and learned what programs effectively reduce reoffending and improve lives but have had difficulty making further progress due to restrictions and reductions in federal and state funding for treatment and lack of availability of appropriate housing ...
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